Shivaji Gaikwad’s custodial death in Margao police stationbrings the ugly side of policing in Goa back into focus again. Last yearwitnessed two high profile deaths in Panjim as well as Bicholim Police Stationwhich raised serious questions not only of the way in which the men in uniformwere conducting themselves but also the way they could get away with anythingincluding murder.
Custodial deaths are not unknown to Goa but it is definitelyuncommon. Absence of a National Human Right Commission unit in the State oreven a State Human Rights Commission has not helped either. No wonder then thattill date only one case of custodial death that of Abdul Gaffar Khan has beentaken up by the NHRC.
But the outcome of investigations into these cases have lefta lot wanting. Of the 13 cases of custodial deaths registered in the case since1992. Only twice, in Abdul Gaffar Khan and Dattu Desai’s murder did the casesof custodial death come to its’ logical conclusion and resulted in conviction.
As per the report of Asian Centre for Human Rights “Torturein India 2011”, four custodial deaths occurred daily over the past decade inIndia. Not all the cases of deaths in police and prison custody are reported tothe NHRC. Goa may not have such an alarming record as not all of its 12custodial deaths prior to Gaikwad’s have occurred due to torture.
While five deaths were by way of hanging either in prison orin the toilet, it is the controversial cases of the deaths of Abdul GaffarKhan, Dattu Desai, Cipriano Fernandes and Babita Gawade that bring back tofocus the fact that Goa Police is not all that naïve.
In Dattu Desai custodial death, the police had murdered thedeceased and then hung him behind the Cuncolim Police station. This raisessuspicion over all cases of hanging in police custody.
In another controversial custodial death case of 1994, Abdul Gafar Khan was arrested by Margao Policeand died on the same day. Magisterial enquiry revealed that Abdul Gafar Khan’sdeath was caused by brutal beating by four police personnel. The officialsinvolved in the incident were suspended from service in June 1994 and caseswere registered against them as CBI took over the case from CID and decided toprosecute a Police Inspector, a Sub-Inspector, an Assistant Sub-Inspector and aConstable involved in the incident.
All the other custodial death cases are lying pending withno further investigations after the submission of the magistrates report.
